N.T. Wright at ... Moody

[steve95054]

(12-27-2011 03:07 PM)dthatcher Wrote:  I love NT Wright, but he doesn't take it far enough. He calls on the church to bring the kingdom and the cross together... maybe I have no creativity or intelligence, but I can't do it... I'd like Wright to tell me how that's supposed to look. Give us some kind of outline. I'm weary of the thinking points... Evangelicalism isn't the answer, nor is mainline liberalism, nor are the emergents, nor Catholics, nor anybody else. Am I supposed to wrap myself in good works, or throw myself into evangelism? Is the Anglican tradition the answer?
Another thing he says is, that the church should be to the world what Christ was to Israel. There are some thick categorical problems in thinking through this statement... I just am tired of reading books and trying to come up with answers. Christianity SHOULDN'T be this hard... If the church has become such a victim of the spirit of the age that it conflates the gospel and man's philosophy to such a degree, doesn't that falsify the church's witness? Maybe HE'S the one who's confused. Maybe I'M the one who's confused. Maybe we are all looking for answers that don't exist at all.

I usually don't quote an entire post, but for this one I will, because it's such a good one.

I've got good news and bad news.

Good News: Christianity is NOT "this hard".
"Bad" News: Christianity IS hard, just for completely different reasons. But I think, once you get plugged into the ancient ways, you'll see that those reasons are worth the battle.

Your journey will require some more thinking. However, as you've rightly pointed out, thinking is not the way to union with Christ, nor will merely thinking through things give you the answers to the statements by N.T. Wright that you're struggling with.

The kind of thinking you should be looking for is the kind where you are unpacking into your mind what your heart has already discovered. Trying to go the other way just doesn't work, and gets very tiring after a while.

From what you've written, it sounds to me like you are ready. You are ready for a sea change in the way you approach spirituality, God, and life in general. You are ready, not to stop thinking, but to bring your heart and body online as well, and begin to wrangle the three into full harmony, through the life of the Kingdom (no, I'm not going to explain this here, because it's beyond that level -- besides, I've talked about it [not explained it] elsewhere on here).

I recommend looking into the ancient tradition, not on the intellectual level primarily (although perhaps secondarily), but on the experiential level. Go to an (old school) Anglican church. Maybe even find a pre-Vatican II Catholic Church.

Also, as an Orthodox person, I would be remiss if I didn't plug my own Tradition. Go to several Eastern Orthodox services, both Vespers and Liturgy. (I see you are in San Diego: this site should be of use...) In these services, don't think too much -- you'll get to doing enough of that later. Just absorb. Be Zen about it. Later, you can examine your memory and pay close attention to what your heart experienced, and unpack all of it under the direction of a spiritual father. (This spiritual father thing is very important! You'll want someone who is further down the road than you to walk with you.)